Introduction
Bitstamp has existed since 2011 and holds licences in Luxembourg and Slovenia. OKX operates in Europe via Malta, charges lower fees and offers more products — but also has a criminal guilty plea in the United States behind it. Data as at August 2026.
Which one for whom?
| Topic | Better | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Costs | OKX | 0.08% / 0.10% with an X-Perps account against 0.30% / 0.40%. Without that account OKX charges 0.20% / 0.35%. |
| Spread | It depends | Only OKX measured ($0.10 on BTC perps). Bitstamp's perpetuals have not been checked yet. |
| Safety and supervision | Bitstamp | Three decisions against four, including $504.7m and a guilty plea in the United States. |
| Products | OKX | Spot, perpetuals and equity perps against spot and perpetuals. |
| Yield on collateral | OKX | OKX pays 3.5% to 4.1%, but on USDG only. At Bitstamp collateral does not earn. |
| Ease of use | OKX | 16 languages including Dutch, a demo environment and 24/7 chat. Bitstamp has had no trailing stops since May 2025. |
Bitstamp if a long, quiet record of service weighs more heavily than fees. OKX if you steer on costs and product breadth, and the American guilty plea is in the past for you. Both are EU-licensed; that is the floor, not the difference.
Head to head
| Bitstamp | OKX | |
|---|---|---|
| Licences | MiCA (CSSF Luxembourg) + MiFID II (ATVP Slovenia) | MiCA (MFSA Malta) + MiFID II (MFSA Malta) |
| Entity | Bitstamp Europe S.A. (LU) · Bitstamp Financial Services Ltd (SI) — part of Robinhood since June 2025 | OKX Europe Ltd (MT) |
| Operating since | 2011 | 2017 |
| Spot fees (entry tier, maker/taker) | 0.30% / 0.40% | 0.08% / 0.10% with an X-Perps account (otherwise 0.20% / 0.35%) |
| Perpetuals | Yes, flat introductory rate with a maker rebate | Yes — 0.02% / 0.05% entry tier, plus equity perps |
| Currencies | EUR and USD | EUR and USD |
| Capital efficiency | Staking, separate from trading | Earn, but not on collateral |
| Proof of reserves | Quarterly | Monthly |
| Hack and loss history | No loss of customer funds in the period reviewed | Withdrawals frozen for five weeks at OKEx in October 2020 |
| Enforcement history | 3 decisions, including a French court ruling from 2025 | 4 decisions, including $504.7m in the US |
| Exchange score | 6.3 / 10 | 7.6 / 10 |
How the scores are built
Bitstamp scores 6.3 / 10, OKX scores 7.6 / 10. Supervision and safety of funds together account for half the score; the rest sits in products, costs and yield. The full weighting is set out in our methodology.
Costs
OKX charges 0.08%/0.10% on the entry tier, but only with an X-Perps account; without that account it starts at 0.20%/0.35%. Bitstamp starts at 0.30%/0.40%. Even in the least favourable OKX scenario OKX is therefore cheaper, and with the perps account considerably so.
Spread
On BTC perpetuals we measured a spread of $0.10 at OKX — equal to the tightest we came across. For Bitstamp we have no measurement: perpetuals there have only been running since 9 April 2026 and we have not checked that market yet. The same applies to the spot side. We do not fill that gap with an estimate. Method in our spread measurement.
Safety and supervision
Both have two European licences, and both have a history. At OKX it is the heavier one: in February 2025 the company pleaded guilty in the United States to operating a money transmitting business without a licence and paid more than $504 million, and on top of that there are two Maltese fines and a Dutch fine of €2.25 million on the tally. Bitstamp has three decisions, of which the French ruling from 2025 is the heaviest.
Products
OKX offers spot, perpetuals and equity perps; Bitstamp spot and perpetuals. For anyone who wants to trade equities through derivatives, OKX is the only one of the two.
Yield on collateral
Neither lets collateral earn freely, but OKX comes closest. OKX pays yield on collateral on USDG only — roughly 3.5% base, up to 4.1% for VIP, paid out weekly. At Bitstamp staking is a separate choice alongside trading; the collateral under a position earns nothing. Anyone who steers on this should know that the USDG restriction at OKX effectively means: convert first, then earn. Put it alongside the yield-on-collateral comparison.
Ease of use
OKX has the broader toolkit, Bitstamp the calmer set-up. OKX offers 16 languages including Dutch on its EU site, a free demo environment, a Simple and an Exchange mode, 24/7 live chat, and publishes a verification time of roughly 30 seconds to a maximum of 24 hours. The order types run from market and limit to trailing stop, TWAP and iceberg. Bitstamp has one app with Basic and Pro, TradingView charts and a FIX API, but no more trailing stops since May 2025. OKX uses its own charting, not a TradingView integration.
Frequently asked questions
What does that American guilty plea by OKX mean?
In February 2025 OKX pleaded guilty to running a money transmitting business without a licence in the United States and paid more than $504 million. It concerns American customers it should not have served, not the European entity.
Do I get the low rate at OKX automatically?
No. The entry tier of 0.08%/0.10% applies with an X-Perps account. Without that account OKX starts at 0.20%/0.35%.
Which of the two has the longest record of service?
Bitstamp, active since 2011. That counts, but it does not protect against everything: in 2025 Bitstamp was held liable in France because it served customers there without registration.